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Science13 Oct 2010

A picture worth a thousand words: New research links visual cues to male sexual memory

Iowa City, IA—October 11, 2010— A new study published in Applied Cognitive Psychology finds that college-aged men are very likely to remember a woman's initial sexual interest (attraction or rejection), especially when the woman in question is thought to be attractive, is dressed more provocatively, and expresses positive sexual interest. In the study the men were shown full-body photographs of college-aged women who expressed cues of sexual interest or rejection. The participating males represented mixed sexual histories, and a capacity for varying degrees of sexually ...

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Social Science13 Oct 2010

University of Florida research provides new understanding of bizarre extinct mammal

GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- University of Florida researchers presenting new fossil evidence of an exceptionally well-preserved 55-million-year-old North American mammal have found it shares a common ancestor with rodents and primates, including humans.The study published today in the online edition of the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, describes the cranial anatomy of the extinct mammal, Labidolemur kayi. High resolution CT scans of the specimens allowed researchers to study minute details in the skull, including bone structures smaller than one-tenth of a millimeter. ...

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Science13 Oct 2010

On the trail of the epigenetic code

The genetic inherited material DNA was long viewed as the sole bearer of hereditary information. The function of its packaging proteins, the histones, was believed to be exclusively structural. Additional genetic information can be stored, however, and passed on to subsequent generations through chemical changes in the DNA or histones. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen have succeeded in creating an experimental system for testing the function of such chemical histone modifications and their influence on the organism. Chemical ...

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Science13 Oct 2010

Smaller and cheaper but 300 times more intense

More brilliant X-rays, more cost-effective methods for developing new energy sources and advanced manufacturing processes are just some of the benefits which may come from a novel technology, proven at the theoretical level by a consortium of British and European laser scientists. The research, led by scientists at the Science and Technology Facilities Council's Central Laser Facility is published in this week's edition of Nature Physics (October 10 2010). A team of scientists from the Instituto Superior Tecnico in Lisbon, Imperial College London, and the Universities ...

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Social Science13 Oct 2010

CU-Boulder student dust counter breaks distance record on New Horizons mission to Pluto

A University of Colorado at Boulder space dust counter designed, tested and operated by students that is flying aboard NASA's New Horizons mission to Pluto now holds the record for the most distant working dust detector ever to travel through space. The instrument on the New Horizons mission -- officially named the Venetia Burney Student Dust Counter, or SDC, after an 11-year-old English girl who named Pluto more than 75 years ago -- reached a distance of 1.67 billion miles from Earth on Oct. 10. Designed by a student team from CU-Boulder's Laboratory for Atmospheric ...

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Environment13 Oct 2010

Mathematics and the environment

Providence, RI---It was a mathematician, Joseph Fourier (1768-1830), who coined the term "greenhouse effect". That this term, so commonly used today to describe human effects on the global climate, originated with a mathematician points to the insights that mathematics can offer into environmental problems. Three articles in the November 2010 issue of the Notices of the American Mathematical Society examine ways in which mathematics can contribute to understanding environmental and ecological issues. "Earthquakes and Weatherquakes: Mathematics and Climate Change", ...

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Medicine13 Oct 2010

Prenatal treatment of congenital toxoplasmosis could reduce the risk of brain damage

Prenatal treatment of congenital toxoplasmosis with antibiotics might substantially reduce the proportion of infected fetuses that develop serious neurological sequelae (brain damage, epilepsy, deafness, blindness, or developmental problems) or die, and could be particularly effective in fetuses whose mothers acquired Toxoplasma gondii, the parasite that causes toxoplasmosis, during the first third of pregnancy. These are the findings of an observational study by Ruth Gilbert from the UCL Institute of Child Health, London, UK, and colleagues and published in this week's ...

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Medicine13 Oct 2010

Being more realistic about the public health impact of genomic medicine

Wayne Hall, Rebecca Mathews and Katherine Morley discuss the limitations of genomic risk prediction for population-level preventive health care. Whilst genome-wide association studies and genomic sequencing have the potential to reveal susceptibilities to disease, they sound a note of caution about widescale implementation of such tests. In particular they point out that before genomic information is used in public health screening, it must first be shown that it predicts disease risk better than phenotypic information. They go on to point out that before genomic information ...

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Social Science13 Oct 2010

Economic advantage to pediatric ondansetron administration in emergency departments

In research published this week in PLoS Medicine, Stephen Freedman (University of Toronto) and colleagues performed a cost analysis of the emergency department administration of oral ondansetron to children with dehydration and vomiting secondary to gastroenteritis and found that this treatment could provide substantial economic, as well as clinical, benefit. The researchers analyzed the costs of the administration of oral ondansetron in both the US and Canada, if routinely given to children with gastroenteritis-induced vomiting and dehydration in the emergency department ...

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Technology13 Oct 2010

Study of planarian hormones may aid in understanding parasitic flatworms

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A study of peptide hormones in the brain of a seemingly primitive flatworm reveals the surprising complexity of its nervous system and opens up a new approach for combating a major parasitic disease, researchers report. The study appears in the open-access journal PLoS Biology. The planarian flatworm, Schmidtea mediterranea, is perhaps best known for its prodigious powers of regeneration. Cut it in half (lengthwise or crosswise) and each fragment will regrow its missing parts, including its brain. The planarian is of interest to those studying reproduction ...

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Medicine13 Oct 2010

Implanting medication to treat opioid dependence appears beneficial in decreasing opioid usage

Helping to address the issue of medication adherence, persons with opioid dependence who had the medication buprenorphine implanted had less opioid use over 16 weeks, according to a study in the October 13 issue of JAMA. Dependence on opioids, in the form of heroin or prescription pain medications, is a significant health concern. A treatment that has been increasing in usage is the medication buprenorphine, with numerous studies supporting the efficacy of sublingually (beneath the tongue) administered buprenorphine. However, poor treatment adherence, resulting in craving ...

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Medicine13 Oct 2010

Restrictive use of blood transfusions during cardiac surgery shows comparable outcomes

Use of stricter guidelines for the use of red blood cell transfusions for patients undergoing cardiac surgery was associated similar rates of death and severe illness compared to patients who received more transfusions, according to a study in the October 13 issue of JAMA. Another study in this issue of JAMA examines the variation in the use of blood transfusions for patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Cardiac surgery is associated with a high rate of blood transfusion. The rationale for red blood cell (RBC) transfusion is based on the observation that anemia is an independent ...

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Medicine13 Oct 2010

Rates of blood transfusions for CABG surgery varies widely among US hospitals

A study that includes data on more than 100,000 patients who underwent coronary artery bypass graft surgery finds that there is wide variability among hospitals in the U.S. on the use of blood transfusions, without a large difference in the rate of death, suggesting that many transfusions may be unnecessary, according to a study in the October 13 issue of JAMA. Another study in this issue of JAMA examines the effect of a restrictive transfusion strategy on outcomes after cardiac surgery. "Patients who undergo cardiac surgery receive a significant proportion of the 14 ...

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Medicine13 Oct 2010

Considerable proportion of patients with advanced cancer continue to undergo common cancer screening

A sizeable proportion of patients with advanced cancer and a life expectancy of only a few years continue to undergo common cancer screening tests that are unlikely to provide meaningful benefit, according to a study in the October 13 issue of JAMA. Cancer screening programs, such as mammography, Papanicolaou test, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and colonoscopy, evaluate asymptomatic patients for the detection of early forms of cancer and have contributed substantially to the decline in deaths from cancer. "Although the benefits of cancer screening are compelling for ...

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Medicine13 Oct 2010

Transfusion rates vary extremely in cardiac bypass surgery

DURHAM, NC – Transfusion rates for blood products used in a common heart surgery range from no patients to nearly all patients, and vary by hospital, according to findings from a group of researchers from Duke University Medical Center. The study, which looked at data from 102,470 patients in 798 hospitals, examined the variation in transfusion rates for red blood cells (RBCs), plasma and platelets, but the team didn't reach conclusions about how well patients fared if they did or didn't get a transfusion. "We don't know whether the variability is potentially harming ...

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Medicine13 Oct 2010

IOF campaign puts spotlight on vastly under-diagnosed and under-treated spinal fractures

At a press conference held in Brussels today, the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF), the Belgian Bone Club and the European Parliament Osteoporosis Interest Group called on health care professionals and health policy officials in Europe to take action to prevent spinal fractures. The call to action was made at the launch of a unique photographic essay, 'snap! the breaking spine', leading up to World Osteoporosis Day on October 20, 2010. Taking viewers across the globe to Brazil, Canada, India, Jordan and Switzerland, the photographic essay captures a typical ...

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Medicine13 Oct 2010

Peer-based outreach services for sex workers assist entry into detox and drug treatment

A mobile outreach program staffed by current and former sex workers is associated with increased entry to detoxification and residential drug treatment among women in street-based sex work, according to an evaluation led by the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) and the University of British Columbia (UBC). The study, recently published in the peer-reviewed medical journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, examined the link between accessing Vancouver's Mobile Access Project, or "the MAP van," and uptake of addiction treatment services by women engaged in street-based ...

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Medicine13 Oct 2010

No quick fix for peripheral artery disease -- repeat hospitalizations

Even after initial procedures to clear blockages in leg arteries, hospitalizations and associated costs in patients with peripheral artery disease increase as the condition progresses, according to research reported in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, an American Heart Association journal. "We are dealing with clinically and economically severe consequences of PAD, a disease which is truly preventable," said Elizabeth Mahoney, Sc.D., the study's lead author. "Our prior research estimated that vascular-related hospitalizations for PAD patients cost the ...

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Medicine13 Oct 2010

Titan Pharma announces JAMA publication highlighting phase 3 opioid dependence data

South San Francisco, CA – October 12, 2010 – Titan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (TTNP.OB) today announced that data from its previously completed and announced Phase 3 randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial of Probuphine were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). The article highlights data from the 163-patient trial, which showed that patients receiving Titan's Probuphine implant had significantly less illicit opioid use, experienced fewer symptoms of withdrawal and craving, stayed in treatment longer and had greater overall improvement ...

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Medicine13 Oct 2010

Despite brain damage, working memory functions -- within limits

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, led by Larry R. Squire, PhD, professor of psychiatry, psychology and neurosciences at UC San Diego and a scientist at the VA San Diego Healthcare System, report that working memory of relational information – where an object is located, for example – remains intact even if key brain structures like the hippocampus are damaged. The findings, published in the October 13, 2010 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience, run contrary to previous research that suggested spatial information, especially if ...

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Medicine13 Oct 2010

Diagnosing autism with MRI is 1 step closer

SALT LAKE CITY—University of Utah (U of U) medical researchers have made an important step in diagnosing autism through using MRI, an advance that eventually could help health care providers indentify the problem much earlier in children and lead to improved treatment and outcomes for those with the disorder. In a study published on October 15, 2010 in Cerebral Cortex online, researchers led by neuroradiologist Jeffery S. Anderson, M.D., Ph.D., U of U assistant professor of radiology, used MRI to identify areas where the left and right hemispheres of the brains of people ...

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Science13 Oct 2010

Forget the Coppertone: Water fleas in mountain ponds can handle UV rays

Some tiny crustaceans living in clear-water alpine ponds high in Washington state's Olympic Mountains have learned how to cope with the sun's damaging ultraviolet rays without sunblock – and with very little natural pigmentation to protect them. In fact, in laboratory tests these water fleas, about the size of fruit flies, withstood UV rays much better than the same species of flea taken from a pond less than a mile away, where the water was murkier and thus offered protection. "The ponds pretty much look the same to us, but the environments are very different for ...

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Medicine13 Oct 2010

Fox Chase researchers uncover Achilles' heel in aggressive breast tumors

PHILADELPHIA (October 12, 2010)—In an unexpected twist, Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers find that the loss of a single protein, Nedd9, initially slows cancer formation but then makes the tumors that do arise more aggressive. The good news, though, is that the lack of Nedd9 also makes the aggressive tumors more sensitive to a class of drugs that are already used in the clinic. "If a tumor is able to overcome the loss of this protein, this clearly makes it undergo complicated changes that ultimately select for a more aggressive tumor," says Erica A. Golemis, Ph.D., ...

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Medicine13 Oct 2010

Promising drug candidate reverses age-related memory loss in mice

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh today report a new experimental compound that can improve memory and cognitive function in ageing mice. The compound is being investigated with a view to developing a drug that could slow the natural decline in memory associated with ageing. With support from a Wellcome Trust Seeding Drug Discovery award, the team has identified a preclinical candidate that they hope to take into human trials within a year. Many people find they become more forgetful as they get older and we generally accept it as a natural part of the ageing ...

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Medicine13 Oct 2010

Patients and doctors are being misled by published data on medicines

The drug reboxetine is, overall, an ineffective and potentially harmful antidepressant, according to a comprehensive study of the evidence published on bmj.com today. The study also shows that nearly three quarters of the data on patients who took part in trials of reboxetine were not published until now, and that the published data on the drug overestimate the benefits and underestimate the harms of treatment - all underlining the urgent need for mandatory publication of all clinical trial results. Reboxetine has been approved for the treatment of major depressive ...

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